Regier said the decision ultimately came down to a numbers game with the additions of forwards like Tim Kennedy and Mike Grier.

“If you’re trying to make adjustments on your team, it’s one way to try and do it,” Regier said. “I’ve looked at the possibility of trading him, pretty much at the same time that we were dealing with the [Dan] Paille situation [Paille was traded to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 20 to avoid a potential log jam with Tyler Myers becoming a regular].

“We’ve just got extra forwards. He’s not playing, he’s in a contract year and it’s an opportunity to hopefully get a chance elsewhere.”

Mair has played in three games this season. He missed the first four games of the year after undergoing arthroscopic hip surgery, but has been a healthy scratch for seven games.

Regier said there has been interest from other teams to acquire Mair, but said there is a chance that the roster could remain the same.

“If he goes unclaimed we’ll make that decision tomorrow,” Regier said. “Quite frankly he could just as easily stay here. The other possibility would be to send him to Portland. But again, we made no decision on that pending the noon tomorrow deadline.”

The 30 year old veteran has played in more than 10 NHL seasons, including seven with the Sabres. He has 96 points (31+65) and 711 PIMs in 484 career games.